Category: Uncategorized

Ugh…I hate that phrase, “economies of scale,” when it has anything to do with creative work. But, unfortunately, it’s happening all over. The Wall Street Journal has this article about off-shoring digital advertising.

The thing to remember about scale, is that it is even more vital to hold onto your rights and license them. Better to make $20K over 5 years than $10K now.

Issues like off-shoring and price-shopping by major companies like GM are going to affect the creative industries more and more. How are we going to respond? How can we serve our clients and grow our businesses in the future? We need new ideas and need to be willing to look at ideas rejected in the past for whatever reason. We cannot rely on “this is the way it is done” for a successful future. 

As a life-long Apple user (my first Apple was pre-Mac), I’ve definitely been one of those who demonized Microsoft. Today, I feel differently about that company. Why? Because, while I still think their operating systems are terrible for most users and can’t imagine buying a PC ever (though I will have to use Windows to take tests in law school), they are strong supporters of copyright and other intellectual property protections. They are even trying to reach the youth to educate them about copyright. 

Google, on the other hand, is one of the worst companies when it comes to intellectual property rights. But it has felt like no one was saying it–like the emperor’s new clothes or something. Finally, someone with a strong media presence has said it: Jim Cramer of CNBC. While I’m not endorcing Mr. Cramer, a lot of people follow him and his advice, and so it is great that he is speaking out in this way. In a recent piece in the LA Times, there is this quote about Google:

“It’s just a parasite,” he says. “It doesn’t create content, it steals it, borrows it, shares it.”

Finally! Woo hoo! 

Trouble is, of course, Google makes great tools (I, regretfully, use several myself) and is immensely popular. They make their products “friendly” and easy to use and (most importantly) mostly free to use (paid for by ads), so we easily forget or don’t even bother to ask about how they do it. As the old saying goes, we don’t want to see how the sausage is made.

But Google is arguably the biggest enemy to intellectual property rights out there. Their book scanning project alone threatens to destroy authors’ rights, but it is couched in the mantle of “freeing” knowledge. Everyone wants information to be free, right? That’s their argument, and on the surface it sounds great! But the reality is that all this will do is shift how/where the money goes. And the artist/author gets screwed.

Where the artist (author, etc.) now gets paid a bit for each book sold (staying with the book example), Google will eliminate a huge portion of books sales, offering the material for free to consumers (readers) online (so far–the future could include more portable reader-devices of some sort) and making money on the ads it sells which accompany the material. They will keyword (I bet) the texts so that, for example, when you read about Ford Prefect in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you will get a Ford Motors ad. The author/artist will get bupkis, or maybe some one-time payment, but Google will get paid for every ad on every page of every text, over and over. 

Google is one of the backers of the Orphan Works bills. They are also trying to argue “fair use” as a much broader thing than it (arguably) is. They are trying to break down copyright and IP law wherever they can WHEN IT HELPS THEIR BUSINESS. 

And they are amazing at how they spin it “for the good of the people” and “freeing” etc.

My point? Well, it’s only that we need to look deeper and longer at things that seems good (or bad) on the surface. Sometimes the things we think are bad aren’t and the things we think are good are terrible. Sometimes we have to sacrifice the ease of, say, using GoogleMaps to protect our long-term interests (protecting IP rights) now and in the future. 

PDN’s got a brief video on the subject. Not a lot of meat to it (it’s a brief vid after all), but you do get to see what others are doing and what speaks to at least one person in the biz. That alone is helpful, I think. 🙂

Need a group to do list thingy so that everyone on a project knows what needs to be done? Or one to make sure you and your partner know that one of you needs to go to the store, or already took care of that? Try Hiveminder.

Other to do lists to check out:

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/

http://www.tadalist.com/

For more project management kinds of needs, try Backpack. Same people who do Ta-Da List, mentioned above.

Integrating tools like these (and Jott.com, and others) will make you more productive and organized. Don’t look for perfection, though, because that’ll doom you to failure (nothing is perfect, after all), but find something you mostly like, and go with it. 🙂

 

 

Harvard Business School has another interesting Working Knowledge article. This one is on Creativity in business and while you may feel like parts of it don’t apply to your small business, read the whole thing. One of the main points is that the cult of the creative genius is changing as the realization that it takes a team becomes more clear. Another is that being creative in business also means looking for and accepting the change and opportunities new technology is bringing us. 

What new things can you try today in your business? How can you build on and improve your creative team? 

How’s this for a photographer’s promo…meatwater! 

Mmm…mmm…good promo (gross product idea, though).

(hat tip to Adland/Alex Stone)

Designer/typographer/photographer Lisa Rienermann uses space and structure…to form letters and, thus words.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that I don’t usually show photographer’s work on this blog, and she is not a client or anything, but she’s also not (just) a photographer. The reason I wanted to point her out is that I’m sure that many of you will look at the work and think “okay, cool, but it’d never be used commercially” when what I see is something that the right art director or buyer would look at and think “I have got to find a project for this–maybe we could pitch this idea to [fill-in-the-blank-mega-client].” In this case, she is wearing all the hats, but still, the idea transcends. 

When you stop trying to answer every question (playing it safe) and instead start making work that evokes questions, you just might find one of those questions being “Which of our clients can we get to sign off so we can use this guy/woman?”

(hat tip to Coudal)

Managing your metadata is a vital part of running your photo business today. If you aren’t taking advantage of the opportunities to protect and enhance your images via metadata, you are missing out on some important things. Judy Herrmann (immediate past President of ASMP and speaker at SB2) has two articles covering how to manage your images’ metadata, in simple, non-geek English. Part one and part two are available online.

One thing–lots of people say “it’s easy to strip metadata” and while that may be true now, doing so violates the DMCA and is another (big) stick to wield in copyright infringement cases. It shows volition–that the infringer knew that s/he was stealing, to boot. 

We all can get terribly wrapped up in our positions. Shifting from specific to general is so easy to do–I think X and therefore most people must think X–and suddenly your personal opinion becomes a “global” one worth fighting for at all (or at least most) costs! Or, at the very least, you put so much stock into being right that you forget to listen to the other side or, worse, to keep in mind what is really most important.

This is basic human nature. We’re really good at these mental leaps and twists. They do get us in trouble, though. Even when we’re right, the way we handle it can be detrimental to our greater needs. For example, you may be completely in the right and totally justified in acting frustrated and cold to your partner when s/he shows up late to a dinner date, but all that behavior will do is ruin the dinner and the rest of the evening, at least–for you as much as for her/him! Instead, being direct (yet polite) will get you much further. Tell the offending partner “Hey, I expect you to be on time for our dates and when you’re not, I feel like I’m not a priority for you. Will you promise to make more of an effort next time to be on time, please?” And then when s/he says “I’m sorry, of course I’ll try” go on and have a lovely evening together…you may even get lucky since you didn’t get nasty about the situation. 🙂

We need to keep this in mind as we deal with business issues as well. Orphan works, lowballers, people “giving it away,” etc., these are just a few of the big issues our industry faces. We can choose how we deal with them and how we deal with those who feel differently than we do. We can choose to be respectful of the hard work and individual concerns and fears of the people who hold positions in opposition to our own. And we can remember that even when some of these people choose a different path, often our goals are the same. We thus need to keep that big picture– that we have the same goals–in our heads so that we do not destroy each other over the details. 

If you want to “get lucky,” you have to forgive the mistakes and differences of others. Instead, keep the greater goal in mind and let go of the other stuff. It’s not the end of the world. You don’t always have to be right and you certainly don’t always have to prove you are. Sometimes, letting stuff go is the best way to get what you really want.

You know, I’d take the railing against the orphan works bills* a lot more seriously if I truly believed that photographers were not only concerned about protecting their rights, but that they were actively doing all they can to protect those rights today.

The reality is, they are not. Not even close. 

Most of you are not even bothering to register your works. According to a transcript from a 2003 congressional hearing, the PPA reported that more than 97% of professional photographers have never registered anything with the copyright office.

It’s pitiful. And until you do, until you start registering everything you create, you can’t be taken seriously as wanting to protect your rights.

_____

* This does not mean I am for the bills as written…or against them. As I have said before, I am staying publicly neutral on this issue. I just think that it’s hypocritical to get all upset about losing your rights when you don’t even protect and exercise those you already have.